Hachsharot Agreement
The idea of recruiting groups of young men and women, some of them from Youth Movements, into the Palmach was raised back in the summer of 1942, and was formalized in the Hachsharot Agreement that was approved in the summer of 1944. Following the agreement, all the graduates of the youth movements were recruited into the Palmach, from 1944 to 1948.
The idea of recruiting groups of young men and women, some of them from Youth Movements, into the Palmach was raised back in the summer of 1942, and was formalized in the Hachsharot Agreement that was approved in the summer of 1944. Following the agreement, all the graduates of the youth movements were recruited into the Palmach, from 1944 to 1948.
The conditions prevalent during the summer of 1942 - the battlefront approaching Mandatory Palestine, publication of the recruitment decree and the shortage of manpower in Kibbutzim - gave rise to the idea of Hachsharot among the relevant parties: The head of the Hagana and the Hagana HQ on the one side, and the kibbutz movements and youth movements on the other side.
The youth movements educated their members to realize their goals and organized the graduates for a year of work in collective agricultural labor settlements as preparation for independent settlement in the future. Until the summer of 1942, the Hachsharot were required to supply a fixed quota of recruits for the army or for the Palmach, as was accepted in Kibbutzim.
Upon the implementation of the Work and Training method, and assignment of Palmach platoons to kibbutzim, it was found that the Palmach was a better framework for recruiting groups of youth movement graduates than their recruitment into other frameworks (Hebrew Guards, army). The leaders of the Hagana and the Palmach's HQ, who needed to find a solution for the shortage of recruits into the Palmach, viewed the Hachsharot as a reliable and stable recruitment source that would ensure the existence of the Brigade.
The Kibbutz movements supported the idea from both the ideological and practical aspects. Recruitment of Hachsharot into the Palmach would strengthen the Yishuv's independent enlisted Brigade, ensure a proper framework that would preserve the settlement reserves, and help Kibbutzim overcome the shortage of manpower from which they suffered.
Despite the advantages of the agreement that was formulated, the parties involved noted the difficulties they were likely to confront if the agreement was implemented: From the point of view of the movements, recruitment would delay the realization of goals (Hagshama) by Hachsharot and would damage the absolute hegemony of the graduate groups; from the point of view of Palmach HQ, it would have to recruit entire Hachsharot, i.e. even people who are not operationally suitable for service in the Palmach. HQ was also compelled to agree to the involvement of other non-military parties in determination of service conditions of Hachsharot members.
Negotiations for the formulation of the idea continued for two years. The Kibbutz movements, and especially the Kibbutz Hameuchad, took responsibility for advancing the idea and turning it into reality. Even before the agreement, and in parallel to numerous debates, five Hachsharot were recruited into the Palmach, and faced grave difficulties due to the lack of an orderly agreement. The agreement formulated and completed in 1944 was based on the Work and Training Pact, and included 14 clauses, defining the rights and obligations of Hachshara members as individuals, of the Hachshara as a movement body and of the Brigade as a military body. The agreement was gradually accepted by the youth movements. The first to accept the agreement in full was the Working Youth (Hanoar Oved) movement and Immigrants Camps (Machanor Olim).
The results of the agreement, which reinforced the triangle, composed of the Palmach, settlement movements and youth movements, were very positive. From the summer of 1942 (recruitment of the first Hachshara groups according to the agreement) to October 1948, 120 Hachsharot groups enlisted into the Palmach, totaling 4500 male and female members. Hachsharot proved their operational capabilities during the War of Independence.
As expected, the war disrupted the terms of the agreement. The efforts of Palmach HQ to implement the agreement could not overcome the fighting requirements. Despite the difficulties and heavy losses, it was evident at the conclusion of the War of Independence that the institute of recruited Hachsharot was strong enough to overcome the difficulties and fulfill its goals, both in fighting and in settlement activities.
The conditions prevalent during the summer of 1942 - the battlefront approaching Mandatory Palestine, publication of the recruitment decree and the shortage of manpower in Kibbutzim - gave rise to the idea of Hachsharot among the relevant parties: The head of the Hagana and the Hagana HQ on the one side, and the kibbutz movements and youth movements on the other side.
The youth movements educated their members to realize their goals and organized the graduates for a year of work in collective agricultural labor settlements as preparation for independent settlement in the future. Until the summer of 1942, the Hachsharot were required to supply a fixed quota of recruits for the army or for the Palmach, as was accepted in Kibbutzim.
Upon the implementation of the Work and Training method, and assignment of Palmach platoons to kibbutzim, it was found that the Palmach was a better framework for recruiting groups of youth movement graduates than their recruitment into other frameworks (Hebrew Guards, army). The leaders of the Hagana and the Palmach's HQ, who needed to find a solution for the shortage of recruits into the Palmach, viewed the Hachsharot as a reliable and stable recruitment source that would ensure the existence of the Brigade.
The Kibbutz movements supported the idea from both the ideological and practical aspects. Recruitment of Hachsharot into the Palmach would strengthen the Yishuv's independent enlisted Brigade, ensure a proper framework that would preserve the settlement reserves, and help Kibbutzim overcome the shortage of manpower from which they suffered.
Despite the advantages of the agreement that was formulated, the parties involved noted the difficulties they were likely to confront if the agreement was implemented: From the point of view of the movements, recruitment would delay the realization of goals (Hagshama) by Hachsharot and would damage the absolute hegemony of the graduate groups; from the point of view of Palmach HQ, it would have to recruit entire Hachsharot, i.e. even people who are not operationally suitable for service in the Palmach. HQ was also compelled to agree to the involvement of other non-military parties in determination of service conditions of Hachsharot members.
Negotiations for the formulation of the idea continued for two years. The Kibbutz movements, and especially the Kibbutz Hameuchad, took responsibility for advancing the idea and turning it into reality. Even before the agreement, and in parallel to numerous debates, five Hachsharot were recruited into the Palmach, and faced grave difficulties due to the lack of an orderly agreement. The agreement formulated and completed in 1944 was based on the Work and Training Pact, and included 14 clauses, defining the rights and obligations of Hachshara members as individuals, of the Hachshara as a movement body and of the Brigade as a military body. The agreement was gradually accepted by the youth movements. The first to accept the agreement in full was the Working Youth (Hanoar Oved) movement and Immigrants Camps (Machanor Olim).
The results of the agreement, which reinforced the triangle, composed of the Palmach, settlement movements and youth movements, were very positive. From the summer of 1942 (recruitment of the first Hachshara groups according to the agreement) to October 1948, 120 Hachsharot groups enlisted into the Palmach, totaling 4500 male and female members. Hachsharot proved their operational capabilities during the War of Independence.
As expected, the war disrupted the terms of the agreement. The efforts of Palmach HQ to implement the agreement could not overcome the fighting requirements. Despite the difficulties and heavy losses, it was evident at the conclusion of the War of Independence that the institute of recruited Hachsharot was strong enough to overcome the difficulties and fulfill its goals, both in fighting and in settlement activities.